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I look up at him, feeling much shorter than I ever have before. “So, you have six siblings?”
He snorts. “Unfortunately.”
“Older or younger?” I ask.
“I’m the oldest.”
The little girl from before, Lucy, comes running down the stairs. She runs right between Parker and me and out the front door, slamming it behind her.
Parker doesn’t react, which makes me think that’s probably normal in this household.
“I’m an only child,” I tell Parker, like it isn’t obvious.
He leads me from the foyer and up the stairs. “I bet your house is quiet.”
“Yeah.” I follow him down the hallway. “Especially since my dad works all the time.”
Parker opens the door to a room, but before we can enter, the door across the hallway opens. A girl who appears to be maybe fourteen walks out.
Wow, she’s tall.
The brunette girl towers over me by quite a few inches. She looks at me with furrowed eyebrows.
“You smell different,” she says.
What is up with Parker’s siblings commenting on how Ismell?
“A good different,” she says quickly, leaning closer as she sniffs. “Kind of like cotton candy with a dash of sunshine. If sunshine had a smell. But I imagine that it’s what sunshine smells like.”
I look between her and Parker. Parker shakes his head, like he’s not sure what to make of what the girl is saying.
“Hi, I’m Henley,” I tell her, hoping she will stop commenting on the way I smell. At least I don’t stink.
“I’m Gemma.” She turns toward her brother. “You’re not allowed to have girls in your room.”
He ignores her, pushing his door open wider. “Come in, Henley.”
I hesitate, not wanting to get him in trouble.
“My mom said it was okay,” Parker tells me, glaring at his younger sister.
I tuck a piece of hair behind my ear, looking at Gemma. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too.” She grins widely. “See you around.”
I walk inside Parker’s room. He walks in behind me, shutting his door. I look around the space, feeling a little awkward about being in his bedroom.
“You can sit down.” He walks over to his bed, taking a seat on the edge.
Parker’s room isn’t what I expected. Though, I’m not sure what I expected—maybe for it to be messy. But it’s not. He’s very clean. Even his bed is made. He has a bookshelf, and all the books are arranged by size. He has a desk with a closed laptop sitting on top. There are no dirty clothes on the floor. Everything is put away. The floor even looks freshly vacuumed. I can still see the lines.
I slip off my shoes by the door, not wanting to get his carpet dirty, and then I sit down beside him.
A silence falls between us and I’m not quite sure what to make of it. I’ve never been one to make conversation. Usually, I ignore people. Not to be rude, but because it’s hard to talk to somebody when every thought going through his or her head is screaming at me. But it’s not like that with Parker.
“Gemma seems nice,” I say, breaking the silence.
He snorts. “She’s annoying.”
